There has been a recent surge of misinformation circulating on the Internet regarding the origin of the Japanese word for “thank you”, arigato. Some have suggested that it is derived from the Portuguese word obrigado, which also translates to “thanks”. While the idea seems plausible due to the historical interaction between Japan and Portuguese traders, the etymology is more complex than a simple loanword. The word arigato actually evolved from arigataku, which was in use over a hundred years before Portuguese influence. Its roots lie in ari, meaning “to exist”, and katashi, meaning “difficult”. The original meaning of “difficult to exist” transformed into “rare”, then “special”, followed by “nice to have”, and finally culminating in “thank you”. This intricate semantic journey is a fascinating example of language evolution, rivaling even Indo-European linguistic developments.
